Raleigh Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Raleigh Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 79.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 468 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after selling 1,787 shares during the quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Applied Materials were worth $68,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,588,422,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 18,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,824,304 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $2,647,430,000 after buying an additional 1,814,444 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after buying an additional 1,602,645 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Applied Materials by 301.6% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 1,959,997 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $318,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Applied Materials by 10,767.6% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,347,580 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $219,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AMAT. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 target price (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $203.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $946,580. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $197.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,423,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,109,438. The company has a 50-day moving average of $171.91 and a 200-day moving average of $164.98. The firm has a market cap of $158.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.74 and a 12 month high of $248.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 1.76.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.